The average leakage level in these households was of around 90 litres an hour

In 2016 around 120 million litres of water – the equivalent of 60 million two-litre mineral water bottles – were saved after letters were sent to 3,000 consumers alerting them of possible water leakages from their premises.

The average leakage level in these households was of around 90 litres an hour, the equivalent of 1,080 bottles of mineral water a day.

This emerges from the Water Services Corporation’s annual report for 2016, which reveals that the 3,000 letters were sent to customers all over Malta and Gozo to advise them of possible water leakage in their premises.

This exercise was carried out after studying the consumption data made available through the WSC-designed profile analysis tools. Over 1,500 home visits related to high consumption or water infiltration due to issues in neighbouring premises were also carried out in 2016 by this section.

The WSC’s aim is to increase the actual amount of water being billed. This can only be achieved by the replacement of old meters. Nearly 30,000 meters a year need to be replaced in order to attain this goal.

The report estimates that 3,456,525 cubic metres or 41% of all water produced is leaked, down from 47% in 2011.

The report shows that Malta has become heavily reliant on energy consuming desalination, which accounts for 58% of its water needs, up from 55% in 2008 and 56% in 2011.

32% of all water is derived from the Pembroke RO plant.

During the period under review the total water produced by desalination was 18,622,971 m3 whereas the total groundwater extracted was 13,505,262 m3.